Can IBS affect the bladder?

Many people notice that urinary urgency, frequency or pelvic pain becomes worse during periods of stress.

 

This isn't necessarily “all in your head”.

 

The bladder, pelvic floor, nervous system and brain communicate continuously. Stress can affect nervous-system activity, muscle tension and the way sensations from the bladder and pelvis are processed.

 

This may help explain why symptoms can become considerably more intense without there necessarily being a new physical abnormality in the bladder.

 

It can also create a cycle:

 

stress → increased pelvic tension or sensitivity → urgency or pain → concern about the symptoms → increased vigilance → greater awareness of bladder sensations.

 

The Chinese medicine perspective

 

Chinese medicine has traditionally paid close attention to the relationship between emotional tension and physical symptoms.

 

Rather than treating urinary urgency as an isolated problem, a practitioner may ask whether it forms part of a wider pattern involving stress, muscular tension, digestion, sleep, pain or other symptoms.

 

This can affect the choice of treatment.

 

The important point is that Chinese medicine does not require symptoms to be either “physical” or “psychological”. It considers the interaction between different aspects of the person.